Microscopic projecting features of specialized geometries are employed in a variety of industries today: tiny probes only a few microns in length fabricated from various materials are utilized in imaging, metrology, and increasingly in the growing nanomechanical testing industry.
Examples of micromachining technology are Focused Ion Beam (FIB) technology and Laser Beam machining technology. FIB is prominently employed in the creation of such microscopic projecting features. Many industrial and research applications can perform their work with tri-faceted (e.g. Berkovich and cube-corner nanoindenters) or columnar geometries (which are rather easily fabricated using well known FIB techniques). However, more specialized and unique features are required for modern micro and nanomechanical systems. For example, specialized projecting features, particularly made from diamond and other hard materials, are required for nanomechanical systems employed in hardness testing and tribology at the nanoscale. Among these are fully conical probes of very small but consistent diameter, which may support hemispherical apices down to submicron radii of curvature. These sorts of features present numerous difficulties for microscopic production by FIB or any other micromachining means. For example, microscopic production using a FIB in “lathe mode” is one example of microscopic production but this requires the use of elaborate and costly software and expert scripting of existing FIB stage operations and ion beam patterning.
There is a need to provide improved apparatus and methods for micro/nano machining a variety of parts in diamond and other materials in a simple, straightforward and economical manner.